WGZB-FM
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WGZB-FM (96.5
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
, "B96.5") is a
mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ' ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. Its
city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...
is Lanesville, Indiana, and its
radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...
is located near
Elizabeth, Indiana Elizabeth is a town in Posey Township, Harrison County, Indiana, Posey Township, Harrison County, Indiana, Harrison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 199 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The original plat ...
near the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
, while its studios are located in
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
. The station is owned by
Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...
.


Station history

WGZB-FM signed on April 15, 1990, with its present Urban Contemporary format under the "B-96.5" name, with offices and studios in the Cosmopolitan Building at Third and Kentucky. The original general manager was Managing Partner Rodney Burbridge. In its first few years on the air, the station was licensed to
Corydon, Indiana Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, Harrison Township and the county seat of Harrison County, Indiana, located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the state. Corydon was founded in 1808 and serve ...
and was handicapped with a signal that covered only half of Louisville's metro. Nevertheless, WGZB soon became the choice for Louisville's
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
population (with approx. 200,000 African-Americans in the radio market as of Fall 2013) and was the final nail in the coffin for 1350 AM WLOU's long-running Urban format (1951–1995). Earlier attempts at Urban Contemporary/Urban Adult programming in the market include "rimshot" FM Urban WJYL (1984–89) and WDGS (1985–87). WGZB was notable in that it tied WLOU for top Louisville Urban radio station after only six weeks on the air, according to the Spring 1990 Arbitron radio ratings. In 1994, WGZB added Urban Adult Contemporary WLSY-FM (now WMJM) to its group of stations, giving the combination broader demographic reach by targeting the age 30+ audience, while WGZB targeted the age 12-35 group. Both stations enjoy large "crossover" (Black+White+Hispanic+Asian+Native) audiences, along with their Hot Contemporary Hit Radio ("top 40") sister station, WDJX-FM. In 2004, WGZB's license was changed from Corydon to Lanesville so that the tower could be moved closer to Louisville and raised taller, eliminating much of the signal problems that the station had due to the low ERP. WGZB carries the syndicated ''
Russ Parr Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as '' Rock 'N' America''. Career Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV. Russ ...
Morning Show'', though it did at one time carry Doug Banks until the station was purchased by Radio One. In 2007, Main Line Broadcasting purchased Radio One's Louisville properties, which included WGZB-FM. In one of the Fall 2013 monthly Arbitron (now NielsenAudio) ratings reports, WGZB ranked #1 in the Louisville radio market, with sisters WDJX and WMJM as #4 and #5 respectfully (out of 32 stations in the Louisville market, listeners age 10+).


References


External links


WGZB's official station website
*
WGZB-FM1's FCC entry
GZB GZB-FM Mainstream urban radio stations in the United States Alpha Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1990 Radio stations in Louisville, Kentucky {{Indiana-radio-station-stub